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Girlfriends in God - Jan. 25, 2008

We hope you are enjoying the Girlfriends in God daily devotions. We (Mary, Sharon, and Gwen) would like to introduce you to some of our special friends. From time-to-time, the Friday devotions will be written by one of our friends in ministry. We call them our "Friday Friends." So grab your Bible and a fresh cup of coffee and drink in the words from our "Friday Friend", Haven Parrott.

Today’s Truth

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus . . .” Hebrews 12:2

Friend to Friend

My son’s teammate, Ryan, is a good middle-school wrestler who wins more matches than he loses, usually with a quick pin in the first period. At a recent match, however, it was obvious there’d be no quick pin, perhaps no pin at all. Ryan’s opponent was as strong as Ryan, maybe even stronger. And he was a good wrestler. The two went at it full bore, matching each other point for point. Fans on both sides cheered, stomped, and yelled advice to the tangled pair. But Ryan had ears and eyes for only one member of the audience: his dad, Brian. As Ryan wrestled his heart out, alternately throwing a hold on his opponent and then contorting his body to elude his opponent’s hold, he frequently looked to his father for counsel and guidance. “What now, Dad?” his eyes asked. And Brian answered. “Lean back, son!” “Harder!” “Now, cross right!” “That’s it! Good job, Ryan!” The exchange between father and son went on throughout the match. A lot of love and trust filled the space between the mat where Ryan wrestled and the bleacher where Brian sat with every fiber of his attention focused upon his boy. With just 20 seconds to go in the 3rd period, Ryan held his opponent down. The pin was imminent. Ryan’s eyes never left his father’s face as he weighted his opponent and waited for the ref’s count. Brian smiled, nodded, and yelled, “Way to go, Son!” The crowd roared with delight when the ref’s slap signaled Ryan’s victory, but I have a feeling that all Ryan heard was the pleasure in his dad’s voice, because Ryan wrestled for an audience of one.

Let’s pray

Father, like Ryan our middle-school son, we wrestle. Not with flesh and blood, of course, but with an opponent hell-bent on holding hostage our hope, restraining our witness, and pinning down our faith. May we, like Ryan, remember to look up, seeking Your guidance and counsel above our own and others’ for every move. Amen.

Now it’s your turn

We have three options as we wrestle through our days. We can focus on our fans, focus on our opponent, or focus on our Father.Which option do you tend toward? Hebrews 12:2 exhorts us to “look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith”. Consider actually looking up often today. Let the act of looking be a physical reminder of where your spiritual focus ought to be.

More from the Girls

Ryan’s unwavering focus on his father during that wrestling match struck a convicting chord within, for I’m often guilty of desiring the crowd’s approval more than the pleasure of the One. A cheering audience and the encouragement of that “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1) is nice, but there’s only One worthy of my complete devotion and dependence, only One whose approval really matters.

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